THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (2-5, 1-2 NSIC South) returns home looking to snap a two-game losing streak hosting Wayne State College (5-2, 2-1 NSIC South) in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division battle this Saturday, Oct. 23, at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center with kickoff set for 5 p.m.
•WSC, which was ranked No. 23 in last week's AFCA Top 25 poll and is still receiving votes in this week's poll, had its four-game winning streak snapped last Saturday with a home loss to No. 22 Augustana. It was WSC's first national ranking since Oct. 10, 2011.
•SMSU, which has lost four straight to WSC, suffered a 26-14 road loss to Winona State last Saturday afternoon.


BROADCAST INFO
•Saturday's game will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with ninth-year SMSU play-by-play voice Ryan Rohlik.
•Live stats, radio broadcast and video can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.

SENIOR RECOGNITION NIGHT
•Despite one more home game remaining on the schedule, the SMSU football program will have 'Senior Recognition Night' on Saturday and will honor its 12 seniors in a ceremony prior to kick off.
•The seniors to be honored include: Jay Atherton, Adihia Bell, Shaylar Burnell, Paddy Devlin, Andrew Haidet,     Dylan Lauer, Ernest Moore, Steven Nava, Marshawn Reese, Gage Roberson, Keaton Rommel and Ken Truitt.

SMSU vs. WSC Series Notes
Southwest Minnesota State and Wayne State meet for the 32nd time on Saturday with WSC leading 23-8 in a series that started on Nov. 1, 1969 ... WSC has won the last four meetings overall and five of the last six including 19-13 in overtime in the last game on Sept. 14, 2019, in Wayne ... WSC has won 13 of the last 18 meetings since 2002 ... WSC is 12-4 all-time in games played in Marshall, including winning the past two games in 2016 and 2018 ... WSC had a seven-game winning streak in the series from 2005-11 ... SMSU scored 39 or more points in five straight games from 2012-16, but has been held to 14 or less points in the last three games.   

SMSU vs. WSC Series Information
Overall:    WSC leads 23-8
In Marshall:    WSC leads 12-4
In Wayne:    WSC leads 11-4
Last SMSU win:    Oct. 10, 2015 (61-3)
Last WSC win:    Sept. 14, 2019 (19-13, OT)
Largest win for SMSU:    58 (61-3, 2015)
Largest win for WSC:    49 (49-0, 1969)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    2 (1990-91, 2012-13)
Longest win streak for WSC:    7 (2005-11)
Current win streak:    WSC, 4
Sauter vs. WSC:    3-7
McMenamin vs. SMSU:    0-0

SMSU HEAD COACH CORY SAUTER
•Cory Sauter is in his 12th season as head coach with an overall record of 45-73, including 44-71 in NSIC games.
•Sauter's 45 victories rank second among 10 head coaches in program history.
•Sauter was named head coach on March 29, 2010, after serving two seasons as an assistant coach at SMSU.
•In 2009, Sauter served as the team's offensive coordinator while in 2008 he served as quarterbacks coach.

MUSTANG DEFENSE AND BURNS CONTINUE TO RANK HIGH IN NSIC
•The SMSU defense begins the week ranked fifth in the NSIC in yards allowed at 389 per game. SMSU is eight in rush defense (139.9) and seventh in pass defense (249.0).
•Junior linebacker Onte Burns continues to lead the NSIC in tackles with 10.3 per game (72 total tackles) and ranks 15th in Division II. He also ranks second nationally with 7.4 solo tackles per game. Burns will be making his 30th consecutive start on Saturday night.
•Senior linebacker Gage Roberson ranks second on the team (15th in the NSIC) with 45 tackles including a team-leading 5.5 for loss.

LOOKING FOR THAT HOME VICTORY
•SMSU will be looking to snap a 10-game home losing streak on Saturday night. SMSU's last victory at home came on Oct. 20, 2018, versus Northern State.

MUSTANG OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS & SEASON NUMBERS
•SMSU has rushed for more than 135 yards in five of seven games this season, including a season-high 241 in Week 4 at Concordia-St. Paul. In 2019, SMSU reached 100 yards rushing in just three games, while in 2018, SMSU reached the 100-yard rushing mark four times.
•Junior running back Jesse Sherwood ranks first on team and fifth in the NSIC with 545 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 85 carries. Sherwood's 67-yard run last week at Winona State was the longest by a Mustang since Max Simmons' 75-yard run on Sept. 29, 2018, at UMary. Sherwood rushed for a career-high 178 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries at Concordia-St. Paul on Sept. 25. Sherwood was the first SMSU player to reach 150 or more yards rushing in a game since Simmons versus Upper Iowa on Sept. 22, 2018.  
•Senior quarterback Andrew Haidet has completed 82 of 162 passes for 859 yards with five touchdowns and eight interceptions this season. He also ranks second on the team in rushing with 251 yards and three touchdowns on 62 carries.
•Sophomore running back Duce Reynolds has amassed 193 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 67 carries.
•Junior wide receiver Zeke Robinson has a team-high 18 receptions for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Robinson caught two touchdowns in the win at Upper Iowa, including the game winning score with 1:09 left in the game.  
•Freshman kicker Carter Dicker has booted three field goals this season, including a career-long 37-yarder at CSP in Week 4.
•Freshman safety Hunter Bohannon and senior cornerback Ken Truitt each lead the team with two interceptions.  
•Senior Adihia Bell's 59-yard punt return on in Week 6 versus Sioux Falls was the longest by an SMSU player since Andrew McReynolds had an 89-yard return for a touchdown on Sept. 27, 2014.
•SMSU passed for just 70 yards in the victory at CSP in Week 4. It was the first time SMSU passed for less than 100 yards in a single-game since being held to 67 yards versus Winona State on Nov. 4, 2017.  

WSU HOLDS OFF SMSU IN SECOND HALF
•Winona State built a 13-0 halftime lead and held off a Southwest Minnesota State second half rally to earn a 26-14 victory last Saturday in Winona to keep the 'Battle for the Sledge' trophy for the fifth straight season.
•The Mustangs had numerous chances to cut into the Warriors second half advantage, starting drives at the WSU 38-, 40- and 33-yard lines, but failed to score each time. SMSU also started a drive in the second quarter at the WSU 44-yard line but turned the ball over via fumble one play later.
•Andrew Haidet completed 23 of 42 pass attempts for 183 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the Mustangs, while completing passes to 11 different receivers.
•Jesse Sherwood rushed for a game-high 97 yards on 11 carries, which included a 67-yard run setting up SMSU's first touchdown of the game.
•Peter Osman caught a team-high four passes for 22 yards with Carter Damlo adding three receptions for 31 yards.
•Marshawn Reese registered eight tackles including four solo stops and was named the Mustangs' Battle for the Sledge game MVP.
•Jordan White had nine tackles with Onte Burns and Adihia Bell each registering six tackles. Ken Truitt added three tackles and his second interception of the season in the fourth quarter.
•WSU closed the game with 353 yards of offense with 20 first downs, while SMSU finished with 271 yards and 15 first downs.

SMSU IN NSIC SOUTH DIVISION PLAY
•Since the NSIC adapted divisional play prior to the 2008 season, SMSU is 25-58 all-time in South Division games, while finishing in the top half of the division three times in 12 seasons.
•SMSU had its highest finish of second place in 2013 and has also placed fourth three times, fifth once, sixth five times, seventh once and eighth once.  

BOHANNON EARNS NSIC AWARD
•True freshman safety Hunter Bohannon was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 27 following his performance in SMSU's 34-24 victory over Concordia-St. Paul.
•Bohannon, in his first career start, recorded an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown and also had a pass break-up and registered five tackles, including a half a tackle for loss.
•He is the first SMSU player to earn an NSIC weekly award since Oct. 8, 2018.

HAIDET REACHES THE CENTURY MARK
•Senior quarterback Andrew Haidet rushed for 147 yards on 10 carries, including a 58-yard run for a touchdown, in the Week 3 loss to UMary. Haidet is the first SMSU quarterback to rush for more than 100 yards in a single-game since Kyle Johnston in 1986.

TEAM CAPTAINS NAMED FOR 2021
•Three players will serve as permanent team captains for the 2021 season as selected by the Mustang players.
•Senior Andrew Haidet and senior Adihia Bell along with junior Onte Burns were selected as permanent captains. It's the second straight season Burns has been named a captain.
•New this season, the SMSU coaching staff will select a game captain each week to serve as a fourth captain for the game.
•Khalif Spry was named captain for week one, Thomas Mergen in week two, Jesse Sherwood in week three, Ken Truitt  in week four, Evan Oetter in week five, Zeke Robinson in week six and Marshawn Reese in week seven.

THE 2021 SMSU ROSTER
•The 2021 SMSU roster (as of Oct. 19) features 12 seniors, 18 juniors, 13 sophomores, 25 redshirt freshmen and 55 freshmen.

BURNS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
•SMSU junior linebacker Onte Burns was named preseason second team All-American by D2football.com on Aug. 31. Burns, a two-time team captain, was named first team All-NSIC South and Don Hansen Football Committee All-American third team following the 2019 season.
•Burns finished the 2019 season ranked 24th nationally with 9.8 tackles per game and 47th in solo tackles per game at 4.9.

SMSU / WSC IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and WSC rank in the this week's NCAA statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU in the 2021 NCAA statistics can be found on pages 20-21.
         (163 teams ranked)     SMSU     WSC
             Scoring Offense    127th     23rd
             Rushing Offense    87th      45th
             Passing Offense    133rd     48th
             Total Offense    134th     36th
             Scoring Defense    106th     75th
             Rushing Defense    75th     70th
             Pass Defense    126th     136th
             Pass Efficiency Defense    150th     94th
             Total Defense    105th     117th
             Net Punting     39th     113th
             Punt Returns     10th     134th
             Kickoff Returns     135th     59th
             Turnover Margin     125th     3rd
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     86th     114th   
             Time of Possession     63rd     76th
             3rd Down Conversions     55th     92nd
             3rd Down Conv. Defense    66th     110th

GET IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU is 15 for 19 in the 'red zone' with 12 touchdowns and three field goals this season.
•SMSU opponents are 22 of 28 in the 'red zone' with 16 touchdowns and six field goals.  
•SMSU finished the 2019 season 22 for 29 (75.9) inside the 'red zone' with 19 touchdowns and three field goals.
•SMSU opponents closed the 2019 season 34 of 42 (81.0) inside "red zone" with 28 touchdowns and six field goals.
•The following is SMSU in the 'red zone' since head coach Cory Sauter took over in 2010.
    Year    Red-Zone    TD    FG
    2010    22 of 30 (73.3)    22    0
    2011    35 of 41 (85.4)    29    6
    2012    30 of 37 (81.1)    25    5
    2013    49 of 57 (86.0)    40    9
    2014    35 of 43 (81.4)    26    8
    2015    39 of 50 (78.0)    36    3
    2016    38 of 45 (84.4)    37    1
    2017    24 of 37 (64.9)    18    6
    2018    28 of 37 (75.7)    23    5
    2019     22 of 29 (75.9)    19    3
    2021    15 of 19 (78.9)    12    3

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 30 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2021 with 17 coming from the offense (6 run, 11 pass).
•For a complete look at the 'long' plays go to page 18.
•The following are SMSU's 'long plays' since 2010.
'Long' plays (20 yards or more) since 2010
    Year    No.    TD    Run    Pass    KR    PR    IR    FR
    2010    61    14    10    32    18    0    0    1
    2011    60    8    13    22    23    1    1    0
    2012    66    20    18    28    19    1    0    0
    2013    125    30    28    51    41    1    2    2
    2014    71    12    15    27    21    3    5    0
    2015    78    18    13    39    18    5    3    0
    2016    93    21    15    40    33    1    3    1
    2017    68    10    12    28    25    1    1    1
    2018    70    15    8    51    7    2    2    0
    2019    56    12    4    37    12    1    2    0
    2021    30    6    6    11    8    1    2    2

SMSU VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
•SMSU is 1-24 versus Division II Top 25 teams since the 2008 season.
•SMSU's lone victory versus a Division II Top 25 team came in the 2016 season opener versus No. 19 Minnesota Duluth (42-38) in Marshall.

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is 'minus-8' in turnover margin in 2021.
•SMSU finished 'minus-2' in turnover margin in 2019, 'plus-2' in 2018 and was 'plus-9' in 2017.
•Since the start of the 2004 season (184 games), SMSU has been a 'plus' in turnover margin in just 60 games (three in 2004, two in 2005, one in 2006, two in 2007, three in 2008, three in 2009, two in 2010, three in 2011, seven in 2012, six in 2013, twice in 2014, five times in 2015, five times in 2016, six times in 2017, twice in 2018, six times in 2019 and twice in 2021).
•The Mustangs have been 'even' or 'minus' in turnover margin in 105 of their last 161 conference games.

SMSU VERSUS THE NSIC NORTH
•Since 2012, when the NSIC schedule had each team playing four inter-divisional games, SMSU has a record of 19-17 versus NSIC North Division teams, including 1-3 in 2021.
•SMSU finished 2-2 versus NSIC North opponents in 2019, 3-1 in 2018, was a perfect 4-0 in 2015, 3-1 in 2016 and 2-2 in 2017.  

MUSTANGS AT HOME
•The 2021 season marks the 13th year that Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center served as the home for SMSU football.
•SMSU is 28-42 all-time at the stadium, including an 0-3 record in 2021.
•SMSU has lost 10 straight home games with the last victory coming on Oct. 20, 2018, versus Northern State.  
•SMSU recorded back-to-back home winning seasons in 2015 and 2016 for the first time since having four straight winning seasons from 1989-92.
•The $16 million facility opened in the fall of 2008 with the first college football game played on Aug. 30 versus Minnesota Crookston.  

MUSTANGS ON THE ROAD
•SMSU is 2-2 on the road in 2021 and are 8-18 in road games since the 2016 season.
•SMSU finished 3-3 in road games last season.
•SMSU is 22-35 in road games since head coach Cory Sauter took over in 2010.

WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU is 4-8 all-time in overtime games, including 0-1 in 2019, since the NCAA added overtime in 1998.
•SMSU is 1-3 in multi-overtime contests.
•SMSU's last overtime game was a loss at Wayne State (19-13) on Sept. 14, 2019.
•SMSU's last overtime win came on Nov. 2, 2013, (51-44) versus Winona State.
•The program's last multi-overtime game was a 34-31 double overtime loss at Minnesota State on Oct. 13, 2012.

2021 NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish 11th overall and sixth in the South Division in the annual 14-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Senior quarterback Andrew Haidet and junior Onte Burns were named 'Players to Watch' in the NSIC this season.

FOR OPENERS
•SMSU is 22-30 all-time in season openers after losing to MSU Moorhead this season.
•SMSU's last season-opening victory came on Sept. 1, 2016, 42-38, versus No. 19 Minnesota Duluth in Marshall.
•SMSU is 3-8 in season openers under head coach Cory Sauter.
•SMSU has lost its last four home openers with the last victory coming on Sept. 1, 2016, versus Minnesota Duluth.

MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2021 season is the 53rd year of college football at SMSU dating to 1968.
•SMSU owns an all-time record of 203-338-5, including 141-244-5 in conference play.
•SMSU has recorded 10 winning seasons, two NAIA playoff appearances (1987 and 1991) and one Mineral Water Bowl appearance (2013).
•The program earned its lone conference championship in 1990.

SCOUTING WAYNE STATE
•John McMenamin is in his second season as head coach with his first season in 2020 canceled. McMenamin came to WSC following five seasons as offensive coordinator at the University of Central Missouri. He was also offensive coordinator at WSC from 2011-14 prior to UCM.
•WSC is coming off a tough 32-24 home loss to No. 22 ranked Augustana last Saturday afternoon. Augustana scored in its first three possessions and never trailed in the game. The Wildcats cut the deficit to 32-24 with 4:23 left in the game but were never able to get the ball back as the Vikings ran out the clock.
•Augustana rolled up 530 yards of offense with 332 through the air.
•Redshirt freshman quarterback Nick Bohne, a transfer from Central Missouri, completed 17 of 32 passes for 208 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the loss. He also rushed for 77 yards on 17 carries. For the season, Bohne has completed 75 of 119 passes for 1,024 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions. He ranks second on the team in rushing with 295 yards and six touchdowns.  
•Senior running back Anthony Watkins rushed for 41 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries in the loss to AU on Saturday. Watkins is the team's top rusher with 444 yards and seven touchdowns on 87 carries.
•Senior wide receiver Taurean Grady has a team-leading 528 yards receiving on 32 receptions with four touchdowns.
•Senior wide receiver Trystn Ducker has caught a team-high 35 passes for 447 yards and four touchdowns.
•Freshman linebacker Alex Kowalczyk has racked up a team-high 50 tackles with seven for loss.
•Senior defensive lineman Josh Taylor has recorded 6.5 tackles with for loss and has a team-high four sacks.